Messed Up Family
by SwanQueen101
Summary: Emma and Mary Margaret have returned from the Enchanted Forest, and Emma finds people working behind her back to take care of Regina's punishment. Some even her own family. She finds a book of history and delves into a world where the 'bad guys' really aren't all that bad. In fact, the 'good guys' are worse than the 'bad guys'. SwanQueen Oneshot


**A/N: So... This is my first SwanQueen fanfic, so go easy. It's really rusty cause I haven't written in a while, but it takes place after Emma and Mary Margaret return home. It's completely AU... nothing like the storyline. Regina is getting her punishment. It's a one-shot, so I hope you all ****enjoy! :) Please review and tell me what you think!**

**WARNING: Mention of rape/abuse**

**Disclaimer: I don't own OUAT.**

Emma really doesn't know what to think. Sure, Regina's attractive, very attractive, but feelings? What she's feeling right now, watching the brunette being led through the woods and to the border of Storybrooke blindfolded and handcuffed, these are new feelings. Feelings of understanding and pity, feelings of anger and hate, feelings that haven't been present in… many, many years. She feels like she could float forever in all the feelings, drown in all the uncertainty, but she doesn't because of the small hand clasped in her own. She turns to look at Henry, really look at him, and what she sees startles and angers her. He seems content with the plan that the townspeople had come up with a few days ago, without her consent, she might add.

She had actually been in the library, trying to see if there were any history books on all the citizens. She didn't want the storybook that Henry kept so close because it seemed pretty biased. She wanted the facts, straight and simple. Plus, she was tired of hearing about all the shit that Regina had done; she wanted to see for herself what truly happened. So she asked the new librarian, Belle. Apparently from Beauty and the Beast, but who her beast was honestly wasn't important to Emma. She just wanted information. So, after Belle had kindly shown her where the history books were, Emma looked through all of them. She finally found one book hidden behind the books that she clumsily knocked off the shelf. She picked it up and took a look at it. There was no title; the book was obviously old, yet not loved. The dust had collected all around it, but the pages were crisp and unturned. It made her realize that nobody truly cared about the whole story. All they were brought up knowing was that the Evil Queen was, well, evil.

When she picked up the book for the first time, she got that familiar tingling in her fingers that she had when Cora's hand had been in her heart. Yet there was no gut-wrenching pain that accompanied it. Strangely enough, her lie detector started going off, but not in the negative. That's when she understood. This book, the one that she held in her hands, was made of magic and everything in this book was true. The whole story was told in this book.

So she sat down and began to read. It told the story of a mistreated girl that turned evil for vengeance. She shuttered when she recognized the name. Cora. But it was so much more than that. In fact, Cora seemed like a good person; it seemed like Queen Eva was actually the bad one. She was rude and arrogant and expected people to bow to her just because of a mistake. Emma always hated those types of kids when she went to school. Cora was a miller's daughter, and she hardly had any food. It seemed Emma had more in common with Cora than the Royals. Cora didn't want to be lowered; she got tired of always being on the bottom. She was tired of being second best. So she did what she had to do, which involved taking out her own heart and sacrificing her happiness for her power. She married the prince, becoming the princess.

The more Emma read, the more she realized just how alike Cora and her were. It scared her, but she continued to read. And then, she recognized a second name. Regina's. Then, something clicked with Emma. Regina had a mother that _couldn't _love her. Cora wasn't able to love Regina, because she didn't have her heart. She turned page after page as she realized just how not having a heart can affect the people around you. She watched as Regina was abused emotionally, magically, and physically, and it made her realize just how much Regina suffered like she did. The only difference was Cora was supposed to love her. Emma never had someone that was _supposed _to love her, just people who said they would but didn't. But then she recognized another name that made her blood chill and her eyes burn: Daniel.

Regina had fallen in love with the stable boy and couldn't do a thing about it. He was the only one that was truly nice to her and not afraid of her mother. Well, he was afraid of her mother, but that didn't affect his relationship with Regain. In fact, it seemed to make it grow stronger, the need to protect Regina being the water that helped the plant grow. But Cora insisted that love was weakness, just like she had with Emma. So they kept their affair a secret, dreading what would happen if Cora found out. Then Emma saw her mother's name, and it made her blood turn to ice and her heart stop.

Snow White had been Eva's child. But Eva died at the hands of Cora, so Snow was a motherless child. Cora scared Snow's horse, making it run ramped in the direction of Regina and Daniel who were having a secret meeting. Regina, seeing the screaming-for-help child raced after her on her own horse. Regina, apparently, liked to ride. Regina caught her and helped the child get off the still racing horse. Regina was incredibly kind to Snow, and they became fast friends. Snow's father proposed to Regina for saving his daughter –which Emma found incredulous– and Cora accepted the outrageous deal. Regina ran to Daniel, and they made plans to escape. Snow caught them kissing and ran away, not understanding 'true love'. Emma had to scoff at that. She didn't like the idea of Regina already having had a true love. A serge of something Emma really didn't want to delve into grew in her stomach making her feel sick, but she ignored it and continued reading.

Snow kept Regina's secret until Cora played on her weakness for her past mother, the one that Cora killed. Snow told Cora that Regina was planning on running away with Daniel that night, so Cora went to meet them. Emma gasped and gagged at what happened next. It literally brought tears to her eyes to know that a mother could rip out the heart of their daughter's lover and crush it in front of them. Emma understood what was going on in Regina's mind when she decided that she would get revenge on Mary Margaret, especially as the story went on. She _couldn't_ kill her mother because, deep down, she still loved her mother. She always would, but her revenge blinded her. She couldn't beat her mother because of her mother's magic. So she went for the helpless Snow White. Emma would have done the same thing. No, she wouldn't have killed a bunch of other people, and she doesn't condone the methods that Regina used, but she understands.

After Regina married Leopold, Snow's father, he decided that he wanted a son to take over the thrown. He never told Snow _that_ little fact, but Emma shivered at what that meant for Regina. As her eyes skimmed the words, she figured out pretty quickly that Regina really didn't want a child with a man that was old enough to be her father. And, after years of pure _torture_, she decided enough was enough. She was tired of being a sex-slave to someone who didn't even appreciate her as a person. She was tired of being a sex-slave in general. She hated the man that she was married too, so when she saw an opening, she took it. Did Emma think it was a good idea? Hell to the yes. Would she tell Regina that? Surprised by her thought, a yes came to mind. Should she have killed the king? Emma probably would have if it meant getting out. She'd done things that she wasn't proud of to get out of sticky situations, but if she were in a situation like _that, _it would be considered self-defense, not murder. Emma would have done the same thing. But after the first night that Leopold bedded Regina, the Evil Queen was born, and Emma saw red. She was desperate to find out how someone could treat someone so… inhumanly. The things she read that the king did to his wife were sickening and made Emma want to grab his throat and kill him herself. She wished she understood the lengths she would go to protect Regina, but she couldn't for the life of her figure out why she was so obsessed with protecting the other mother of her child.

Yet the worse Regina did in the book, the more her chest constricted with pain until she, literally, couldn't breath. A tear streamed down her face when she read about the dark curse, but not from the loss of her family, but the pain the Regina went through to cast the curse. She had to rip out the heart of the thing she loved most: her father. The fact that Emma and Regina had lost everyone they ever loved was enough to know that they were way more alike than they let on. She quickly wiped the tear away.

Emma acknowledged that she lost everything that she loved because of Regina, but she also knows that if Regina hadn't cast the curse, she wouldn't be who she is now, nor would she have Henry. In fact, she might be like one of the royal snobs that she's reading about, and she most definitely wouldn't want that. Now that she thinks back on her life, on how miserable it was, she can't help but enjoy it. Because it's how she got here, it's how she met her family and became someone who saves people, though she isn't sure if she likes that title so much. She just takes that one person at a time. But she knows that she would be different if she grew up _there. _In the Enchanted Forest. She thinks about what life would be like there, but she always comes back to being grateful for the curse. She may not have grown up with a family, but at least she wasn't naïve when she was young.

Still, Emma continued to read. She read about Storybrooke and how nobody could remember anything. She read about Henry being adopted and how happy Regina was because she finally got someone that would love her no matter what. Because he was her son. And reading that made Emma's stomach flip. All Regina has ever wanted was someone to love her, yet everyone that did left or died. And the thought of that made her sick. She remembers when she had to give Henry up, the feeling of complete loneliness. That no matter how many people where around her, she'd feel as though she was alone. And that's how Regina's felt all this time.

She finally got to some of the good stuff. When she came into town and everything started changing. But the more she read, the more she realized just how much this book was made of magic. It, apparently, took all the thoughts of the people important and put them in this book. She skipped over the nonsense, but when she came to the mine scene, she was enamored to see her thought as well as Regina's reflecting somewhat of the same thing.

When Regina had stepped into Emma's space to tell her to save her son, Emma's eyes had flicked down to the woman's oh-so-close lips, but she quickly looked away not wanting to be caught. But the book said otherwise. The book stated that Regina's mind had wandered in that direction for a short sentence too, but Regina knew it wasn't the right time, or place, to do such things. Her son was in a freaking mine for Christ's sake. But they both thought it to simply be lust, not feelings. That's what the book said anyway.

She continued to read through the book until she was caught again by the mention of her 'feelings' for Regina. During the fire when Regina thought that Emma was going to leave her, Emma couldn't. Emma came back, and, according to the book, that made Regina's heart soar. But _apparently_, Regina was really, _really_ good at hiding her feelings from Emma. She disguised them with arguments and heated insults that, Emma will admit, stung quite a bit. But have they really been this oblivious to their feelings toward one another? Now that she's reading it in a book, she can't help but be rooting for herself. How crazy is that?

The one thing she didn't understand was why Regina had tired to poison her with that damned apple pastry. If Regina had feelings for her, why try to poison her? And the book said that she used her last bit of magic, magic from her _first_ love –the book said so, not Emma, though she's glad _someone_ said it– to get the apple. The book said that Regina had to push Emma away before the feelings grew into something more than she could handle, so she pushed and pushed until the only thing she had left was poison. She didn't want to grow attached if the only thing that was going to happen was Emma would leave or die. And she wouldn't be able to handle that. Not again. And Emma, somehow, understood that. She wouldn't be able to loose Regina either.

And that's when things started clicking together. She slammed the book closed and went to the front to check the book out. She'd spent hours with her phone turned off reading this book, and, she must say, she agrees more with Regina and Cora, the 'bad guys', than she does her own parents, the 'good guys'. In fact, the 'good guys' seem worse than the 'bad guys'. They're judgmental and sacrifice lives to kill people that only hate them because they messed up first. Cora and Regina both lost something they can never get back. Cora, her heart and life, and Regina also her heart and her life, though Cora more in the literal sense. Regain lost her freedom because Cora lost her heart because a royal brat, her grandmother, made a fool out of Cora in front of everyone, humiliating her many times over.

"Hey, Belle right?" Belle nodded her head and gave Emma a sweet smile.

"Yes, how may I help you Emma?" Emma's gotten used to people knowing her name because she's the 'savior'.

"Uh, I just wanted to check out this book." Belle gave her a knowing smile that, frankly, set Emma on edge.

"Of course. You can keep it if you want. Nobody really comes in here." Belle gave a small shrug while Emma gave an appreciative nod.

"Thanks." Before she could turn fully around, Belle was talking again in a soft voice.

"It takes a lot to love someone who thinks they're a monster." Emma's cheeks heated as she turned back around swiftly.

"I don't love her. I just want to save her." Belle arched an amused eyebrow, but kept talking.

"You can't work so hard on saving someone who thinks they're not savable without loving them. Saving and loving go hand in hand." Emma could hardly find words to describe what she was feeling. No, she didn't think she loved Regina, but it would explain a lot. They do say there's a thin line between love and hate. One that they have definitely been skirting around.

"You're Rumplestiltskin's girlfriend, right? I read it in the book. You would do anything for him, yet he still threw you out of his castle." Emma narrowed her eyes at the woman before her.

"Regina poisoned your son, yet you still can't stop your feelings." Belle wasn't being rude; Emma could see that, she was just pointing things out.

"That's different." No, no it wasn't, but it made Emma feel a bit better.

"No, it's really not." Belle gave a small smile. Emma narrowed her eyes.

"How do you even know what I may or may not feel? I don't even know you." Belle looked away bashfully, clearly feeling somewhat guilty about something.

"I, uh, I was walking back to check on you, but when I got there you were looking at one of the pictures of Regina ripping out her father's heart, and you wiped away a tear. I wasn't trying to pry, but I knew you were in pain for her. I had that same look on my face when I heard about some of Rumple's deals. I was upset because I wanted to know what made him feel like he had to do them. His deals, that is. And that's when I figured it out." Emma felt her face heat up in embarrassment at the thought of someone seeing her cry.

"I'm just trying to save her." It came out a mere whisper, but she knew Belle heard her.

"Then save her, but if you save her, you can't leave her like everyone else has. I've only heard tales, but I know her path has been harder than most. If you save her just to leave her, you're better off not saving her at all." Belle's voice was quiet but stern.

"I would never leave her." It shocked Emma how much she meant that statement, but Belle just gave her a soft smile and turned back to the book she'd been reading. Emma turned around and left in a daze.

When she picked up the book again, it wasn't until a few days later. She was overwhelmed with the prospect of loving Regina. Not because she was a woman –no, Emma has taken a few female lovers in her time– but because she was the mother of her son. And Emma was supposed to hate her because she destroyed her family, but she couldn't. And not being able to hate the one person that you're supposed to hate can bring you down in the dumps. When she opened the book again, she went back to where she was. The last few pages made her heart stop.

The book, it seemed, added more pages by the days that went by. And the page she was reading indicated that Regina had been sentenced without her. Her fate had been determined, and the more she read, the more she hated it.

They, being the townspeople, were going to throw her over the border blindfolded and handcuffed and use her as a tester. Once she got her memories back, they would throw her over again and leave her to wander the woods until death.

And that's what brought her here, standing as she watches the woman she very recently discovered she has feelings for, being led into the woods. She's been standing for just a few seconds until she feels the small hand slip into hers. Then, she takes off, Henry trailing behind her, towards the crowd.

"Mom. Mom. Emma!" Henry pulls Emma to a stop, confusion clouding his eyes. "What are we doing?" Emma looks down at her son.

"We're saving your mother. I can't stand for this." He looks contemplative for a few seconds.

"But she's the Evil Queen." He accused, but it sounds more like a question. "I mean, this is how it's supposed to be, right? You're supposed to defeat her." Emma shakes her head at her son and bends down to his level.

"Henry, this, what everyone's doing here, isn't right. The only thing your mom wants is to be happy. She just wants someone to love her. Can you understand that? The reason she became the Evil Queen is because she was lonely. Nobody loved her. And we, you and me, we have to fix that. All right?" The young boy looks up at his mother through narrowed eyes, confusion still in his eyes.

"You want to love mom?" His nose scrunches as he thinks about that. His eyes narrow in contemplation but they widen in realization quickly. He starts running after his brunette mom, calling back at Emma to hurry up. She's right on his heels soon.

They shove their way past people to get to the front of the mob, not realizing just how close to the town line they are. When they get to the front, Regina is facing away from them and towards the line. David is pushing her in the direction of the line. Regina isn't making a sound, but her movements are ridged and angry, yet her shoulders sag in defeat. The sight makes Emma's stomach to summersaults.

"David! What the hell to you think you're doing?!" She screeches. David pauses his movements and turns slowly. Everyone's stopped walking. You could hear a pen drop in the silence.

"How did you know we were here?" Emma's eyes widen in shock at what was just said.

"Excuse me? That is the _worst_ thing you could have just said." She snarls. "Why did nobody tell met this was happening? This is… inhumane. You have _no _right to condemn Regina for anything!"

"She tried to kill your mother!" David counters angrily.

"Mary Margaret couldn't keep a secret, and that cost Regina her first love! Tell me, if Regina had managed to kill Mary Margaret, would you kill Regina?" Emma challenges her father.

"Of course not! But, even if I did, that's different. Mary Margaret was a child." David argues. Emma's lie detector goes off.

"You just lied. You _would_ kill her. And no, it's really not that different. Mary Margaret may have been a child, but she was still capable of thinking on her own terms! She wasn't an infant. You're worse than Regina because you're hypocritical and judgmental. At least Regina can admit that she would kill someone instead of being a coward and _denying_ it!" Everyone looks startled by Emma's outburst, but she means every word. "Now, I have a solution. You can throw her over the border, but, if I can get her memory back, nobody messes with her. And if I catch you doing anything to harm her or our son in any way, I'll book you, and you won't get out for a while. Deal?" She's looking right at David's flushed face.

"What makes you think you can get her memory back before any of us? What's your secret?" He narrows his eyes at her, but she doesn't relent.

"I guess you'll just have to figure it out. Do we have a deal?" David finally gives in, nodding his head. He moves forward to grab Regina, but Emma steps in front of him, giving him a challenging look.

When Emma gently touches Regina's back, she feels the shiver rip through the woman. A smirk grows on her face. She bends towards Regina's ear and whispers a simply instruction.

"Trust me."

Regina nods her head slightly, but not enough for anyone else to see. Regina starts walking forward, guided by Emma's hand that still rests on the small of her back. They face the line, and Regina looks back at Emma briefly. Emma gives her a reassuring smile that makes Regina give the slightest smile back. She takes the last step forward, and a ripple of blue magic rips through her. As soon as it's gone, Emma grabs Regina and pulls her back into her embrace.

"Wh-what happened? Where am I?" Regina looks around with a blank look, confusion and fear clouding her gaze. It's clear she's lost her memory, and it brings tears to Emma's eyes.

"Regina, I need you to trust me." Regina starts to breath heavily, panic taking over her body. Everyone around them stays silent.

"Wh-Who's Regina? Why are you calling me that?" She starts shaking, and it scares Emma, so she cups Regina's cheek with her hand, looking deep into her empty eyes.

"Just trust me." Slowly, Regina starts to calm down, her eyes never leaving Emma's. Her body begins to relax, and her heart begins to slow. She blinks a few times and tilts her head to the side.

"Okay." It's said softly, and it makes Emma's heart pound.

"Okay." She slowly, as not to scare Regina, starts to lean in. She watches Regina's eyes flutter close as she draws nearer. She closes her own eyes as her lips brush past Regina's. She pulls back quickly, yet only a few inches. Just enough to see Regina's eyes.

She looks deep into them, but still doesn't see any recognition, and that makes her heart sink. But then, Regina's pulling her closer and her hands are tangled in Emma's hair as her lips crash with Emma's. Regina kisses Emma with everything she's got, and Emma does the same. Emma's hands make their way to Regina's hips as their lips move together. Emma feels a tongue sweep over her bottom lip, begging for entrance. Emma allows it quickly, their tongues fighting for dominance.

As their passionate kiss begins to break for air, Emma pulls Regina even closer, trying to savor whatever she has left. Regina nibbles on Emma's bottom lip, and then it's over. They're both smiling giddily, but Emma can see the recognition in Regina's eyes, and it makes her heart beat faster.

They're both gasping for breath, but they could honestly care less. Emma just stares at Regina's eyes, as Regina does hers.

"Mom?" Regina's eyes shift down to the hopeful expression her son wore. She finally has a chance to glance around at all the people that surrounded them. Quickly, she steps away from Emma's embrace and clears her throat. She bends down to her son's eyelevel and smiles at him.

He sees this recognition and jumps into her arms, excited to have his mother back. Yes, he had accused her of being the Evil Queen, but the thought of her actually not remembering who he was scared him. It made him want his mom back, along with all of the memories of when he was younger. He longed to hug his mom again, if only for a brief moment. He wanted to see her smile again. And now, he had his chance; he wasn't wasting it.

He felt the tears on his neck where she had nuzzled in, but he couldn't complain. He too had tears running down his face.

"Mom, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. Please come home. Don't leave me… I love you." His whispered cries and confessions rip a sob from the older woman's throat. She clutches to him like a lifeline, getting on her knees to cling to the young boy.

"Oh Henry, I love you too. So much. I love you so much. I won't leave… I promise." Emma gets on her knees and joins the small family hug. She has a few tears in her eyes, but she swears she'll be strong for her family. Because, as screwed up as they were, they were a family.

**A/N: Okay, so what'd you think? I know, it's DEFINITELY not my best work... AT ALL. But it's a start. I hope you all enjoyed it. :) Thanks for reading. Leave a review and tell me what you think! BTW I'll do one-shots for people if they give me a prompt. :) Just PM me if you're interested.**

**~SwanQueen101**


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